MANILA, Philippines – Citing documents his office obtained, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said that dismissed mayor Alice Guo used her businesses to fund Philippine offshore gaming operators or POGOs in Bamban, Tarlac.
Gatchalian revealed this during the Senate inquiry on Monday, September 9, as Guo faced the senators for the first time since May 22, and after she illegally left the Philippines in July.
“Nakita rin namin na ginamit mo rin ‘yung mga kompanya ninyo para bayaran diretso ‘yung kuryente ng POGO hub sa Bamban gamit ang inyong mga korporasyon,” Gatchalian said. (We also found that you used your companies to directly pay for the electricity of the POGO hub in Bamban using your corporations.)
The senator presented the transaction history of Guo’s businesses directly funneling money to the Baofu compound of Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated, the POGO hub in Bamban.
Guo earlier said that she had divested her shares in the real estate company before she won as mayor in 2022. Documents, however, suggested otherwise, as payments for electric bills of Baofu could still be traced to her.
“For example, in 2020, ang QJJ Farm nagbayad ng kuryente in different dates, diretso sa Tarelco. In 2021, 2022, ang QJJ Farm rin nagbayad in those amounts rin iba-iba, no? May P1.3 million, P5 million, diretso to Tarelco,” Gatchalian said.
(For example, in 2020, QJJ Farm paid for electricity on different dates directly to Tarelco. In 2021 and 2022, QJJ Farm also made payments in various amounts, such as P1.3 million and P5 million, directly to Tarelco.)
“In 2023, ‘yung QC Genetics. Nagbayad rin ng different amounts, P6 million, P2.6 million, diretso to Tarelco,” he added. (In 2023, QC Genetics also made payments of different amounts, such as P6 million and P2.6 million, directly to Tarelco.)
Tarelco is an electric cooperative in Tarlac province.
QJJ Farm and QC Genetics are just two of the many businesses under Guo’s name. Asked if she is the company president of QC Genetics, Guo replied: “Ako po (I am).”
While the ousted mayor has repeatedly denied her ties with POGO operations, documents presented during hearings pointed to her.
“Gusto ko rin i-point out, 2023, mayor ka na nito. Presidente ka ng QC Genetics. Mayor ka na ng Bamban. Pero ginagamit mo ‘yung kompanya mo para bayaran ‘yung POGO hub sa Bamban. So ang punto ko dito, Madam Chair, na may active participation ka. Nagbabayad ka ng kuryente. ‘Yung kuryente, ‘yan ang isa sa pinakamahalagang aspeto ng POGO hub,” Gatchalian said.
(I also want to point out that in 2023, you were already the mayor. You were the president of QC Genetics and the mayor of Bamban. Yet, you used your company to pay for the electricity of the POGO hub in Bamban. So my point, Madam Chair, is that you had active participation. You were paying for the electricity, which is one of the most crucial aspects of the POGO hub.)
“Dahil kung walang kuryente, hindi tatakbo lahat ‘yan. Kaya ‘yung statement mo, na madalas mo marinig na wala kang participation, base sa dokumento, active participant ka,” the senator stressed.
(Because without electricity, none of that would function. So your statement, which you often hear claiming that you had no participation, is contradicted by the documents, which show that you were an active participant.)
The dismissed mayor replied by saying, “I think I have a pending case before the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue). I invoke my right against self-incrimination.”
Aside from graft, Guo faces three other criminal investigations at the Department of Justice for qualified human trafficking, tax evasion, and money laundering. These are all related to her incorporation of a leasing company called Baofu Land Development Inc., which rented its spaces out to a POGO called HongSheng Gaming Technology Inc., later renamed Zun Yuan Technology Inc. – Rappler.com